Florida day 2

The first day we spent in Kings springs at the Crystal river, I had asked the captain if we could go there as it was Sunday and would be very busy, Although Kings Spring has a green water its deep, Around 10 feet which would mean that people could not stand and kick silt up, There are normally many more manatees there as well and so it was, Monday would mean less people although at this time of year it would still be busy it would be much less so than the weekend so i asked to visit 3 sisters springs which is very shallow (you can stand in most of it) but the water really is crystal clear-think gin or vodka clear, I was surprised to see people in the water when we got there just after 7am and a boat right behind me however i quickly swam straight past the group and went to the bottom spring which was like a graveyard of sleeping manatees, Lots and lots and lots of manatees, There were a couple of playful manatees keeping the group happy but i stayed with the sleepers in the cristal clear water and managed to get both playful and normal manatee images in nice clear water, I did have my friends with me and one that was not comfortable in water but at the end of the day she was happily playing with manatees and will have memories to treasure for life, Truly amazed at how the gentle giants made here feel and you could sense the elation,It was indeed a triumph all round and as usual an almost spiritual experience, I could do this forever,It was not all plain sailing though as i quickly filled 24 gigs worth of memory and had to go back to the boat to reload, I could not have sealed the bag 100% and an hour later i got out only to find quite a bit of water in the camera bag but luckily everything seems fine, I used auto ISO for the first time-i am a bit slow- and it worked great,Every image sharp and well exposed shooting from ISO 3200 down to around 400 as the light came up, We went to the beach in the afternoon where there was a good group of birds when we arrived but before i could get the gear out some fuckers-opps sorry lovely young children-chased them away leaving gulls for the whole time that we were there, We did however enjoy the warm 70+ weather,We left the Crystal river after lunch and headed south to Sarasota which was a new area to me and finally time to relax.

Here is my friend Judy how is having fun with a manatee that wants its tummy rubbed whilst behind her 2 more manatees sleep on the river floor